Bound by Love
by pandakelly
Summary: Penny reads a rather unique book. Based on the idea that someone should write a book where the character slowly falls in love with the reader. Shenny all the way. This is AU but I will try and keep the characters somewhat in character.
1. Prologue

**Bound by Love**

By Pandakelly

** Author's note: I do not own The Big Bang Theory or any of its characters, nor can I say that this idea was entirely mine the idea came from a pin on pintrest that I am not sure who started but either way it is not mine **

Penny's Point of View

Looking back Penny was sure that it was fate that brought her to that small bookstore tucked between the shoe store and the comic book shop. During a trip to procure a pair of black wedges her eye caught her favorite book in first edition. Years ago she would have simply walked away knowing full well that she would never be able to afford such a treasure but with a couple feature films and a regular part on a sitcom she was certain she would leave with a new book.

The shop owner was a sweet looking elderly woman who greeted the starlet encouraging her to browse the shop for a few minutes while she left for a cup of tea. Penny was more than happy to browse, and soon had a small stack of books in her arms. She was just about to return to the register when a rather large book caught her eye; the book was worn and faded around the edges, it had to be at least two thousand pages long, but it was the cover that made her add it to the pile. Under a shade tree in what could have been only classified as antebellum Texas was a man in his late twenties, his face held a smile. His left hand was extended towards Penny with a dozen white lilies. Penny found that the lack of title endeared the book to her more. By the time Penny left the shop she had 6 new books the first edition of Frankenstein, the mysterious book, she had also been roped into coming back once a week to handle some small inventory for the owner.

Sheldon's Point of View

It had been years since anyone had picked up his book and Sheldon found that he was happier than he had been in years. He was sick of having to fall in love with people who didn't care about him. His last owner had promised that she would visit often but after a year she had sold him to an antique book store. _I guess that's what I get for giving my heart away too easily, _he mused. At least he still had his work, while it was at a standstill he was content with the progress he had made during his hundred years of existence.

Suddenly he felt new eyes on his spine, hoping his lack of title would deter the stranger he was disappointed when he felt himself being picked.

_Great, maybe she won't like lilies or the south_, he thought as he extended the bouquet to the stranger. _She had pretty eyes_, he caught his traitorous heart catching as she smiled and carried him to the register.

_Here we go again. _

**Please review and let me know what you think I am hoping to have another chapter up in the next couple of days. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Bound by Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter One

**AN: I own nothing that is familiar and I imagine that some of the things that aren't familiar are also not mine. Here goes chapter one I will try and keep the points of view down to one per chapter. Thank you soo much to all those of you who have followed and reviewed, honestly I wasn't expecting anyone to like this story. Hope you all enjoy and if you do feel free to drop a review.**

Sheldon's Point of View

Sheldon was not a vain book but he had to admit his new owner was filthy rich and her apartment was pristine. _Great at least she's not a slob like my last owner_, he thought as he surveyed the room from his "spot" on the couch. He had already been in the apartment for a week and had been getting pretty antsy, the other books were welcoming but they never understood how he was able to interact with his readers. To be honest Sheldon couldn't explain it either. He was sure that all books want to tell the reader what they are thinking but for some reason he is the only book that is able to. Of course if the Spiderman comics had taught him anything it was that no gift is free from a pitfall.

Suddenly Sheldon's thoughts were interrupted as the mystery woman picked him up from his spot. Normally he would object at such manhandling but there was a sort of gentleness about the woman's touch that stopped him. He also knew from experience that if the first words he spoke to a new owner were harsh they would simply put him back on the shelf. Not ready to be totally rejected, Sheldon was overwhelmed by affection as he saw her bite her lip as she opened the book and stared at his home.

He felt his heart skip a beat as she stroked the picture. _Maybe this time will be different_, even in the few weeks he had stood on her shelf he noticed that she was much more of a workaholic than his previous owner, _finally someone who might understand my drive. _All too soon she started the first chapter, Sheldon always hated that first chapter, it was too long, he wished that he could talk to her right away, but he knew that would be a mistake.

_Wow, she has such pretty green eyes. _For the next twenty minutes he contemplated what the name of the color should be, moss was to dull, emerald, over used, finally it hit him they were the color of the dark lush forests where his pages came from. Far too soon he felt his cover close; _she must only like reading a chapter at time_. _Well that's just great she still has two more chapters before I can talk. Oh well at least now that she has started reading I will be able to try and uncover the mysteries of the universe. _Before he set up his white boards he wondered what her reaction would be. After all she clearly was a reader, it might take him longer to prove that he was alive, by maybe just maybe it would be worth it.

Later that night as his owner slept Sheldon found himself reminiscing about his last owner, Amy. She was a scientist but unlike him she never was able to believe in real love. Even with this fault she was still the women he loved and had been the first women he was able to carry out actual conversations, the years that he was in her life had been the best of long existence.

After five years she had reached his last chapter, he was incredibly hopeful that something more than simply friends, Sheldon had told her he loved her several times but she still believed he was just a book. Amy never finished the last chapter; she got married to a physicist who wore glasses and had mother issues. She sold him the day after the wedding and there he waited, for ten years he traveled from book store to book store. He met all sorts of different books, and became proficient in three new languages.

As the days turned to weeks Sheldon felt his heart harden towards the pretty blonde whose home he shared. All the other books received attention especially Frankenstein_. _Even his work lost interest, after three weeks Sheldon was certain that he even if she ever did open him up again he would never allow himself to talk to her. What Amy had done to him was terrible but at least she had at least taken the time to get to know him before she abandoned him.

One cold and snowy afternoon he was carried from the shelf to a large chair by a fire, Sheldon fought a mixture of emotions as he watched the familiar green eyes scan his pages, two hours later it was finally time for him to speak. With uncertainty he pushed himself to the front of the book and cleared his throat.

"Hello, my name is Sheldon Cooper, and what might your name be?"

**Two Chapters in one day…wow I am on a roll. So let me know what you think, if you want more of Sheldon's backstory. Next chapter will have Penny's point of view and should include our first real taste of the love story. I should have it up by the end of the week but we will have to see if my muse sticks around that long.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter Two

**A/N: I own nothing but I did get a new job that I will be hopefully starting on April 1****st**** so for a while the updates will be pretty close but they might be more spread out as I work more regular hours. Once again thank you to all the followers reviews and favoriters you guys give me the strength to keep going. On a positive note I do have the majority of what I want to say in chapter three so I will actually just have to write it out and get it edited. **

Penny's Point of View

Penny Coble was a practical woman, she knew that she was pretty and when she was younger had exploited the fact to its fullest. At 29 she was done with love, sure she still dated but all of her boyfriends had been kept at an arm's length and the moment they professed their love they were gone. Penny hated romance stories and tended to stay away from them.

Her psychologist told her that she avoided love because of what had happened to her parents, but she ignored the overpriced quack. Sure her parents had always seemed in love but beneath the veneer of happiness was a brittle and dark relationship that was mainly held together by Penny and her two siblings. The late night fights and icy breakfasts convinced Penny that her parents had never been in love despite what her sister claimed. When Penny was 19 her parents divorced. Two years later her mother died and just last year Penny's father suffered a heart attack and died.

After the divorce Penny had moved to California. Finding an apartment and a waitress job Penny was quickly discovered and worked for a year and half paying dues before she was cast in a low budget science-fiction movie that turned into a cult classic. She loved touring the Comic-Con scene and was soon offered a part in a franchise movie that went on a gaggle of spin-offs and merchandizing crazes. It seemed that until last year Penny would never break from her nerd shell, not that she didn't love her nerdy followers but she was ready for parts with a bit more meat. Her chance came in the form of a sitcom. The sitcom had brought in real offers; sadly most of them were romantic comedy films. Recently Penny had been offered a role as a female scientist who moved into an apartment across from a pair of male models. The producer had promised that she would not become a love interest but that she would be the glue that held the show together, while the other characters dallied in romance.

When Penny had first picked up the mystery book the lack of title had clinched the sale and soon she was bringing it to her fourth floor penthouse. After reading the first chapter Penny put the book down and decided that she would just let it gather dust as the writer was far too sure of himself for her tastes and had offered her a live changing experience if she only read further. _Sorry book, but I have already had enough life changing experiences_ she thought as she returned the book to his place on her book shelf and reached for her beloved Shelly. So for the next three weeks Penny ignored the book in favor of her less annoying novels.

After being insulted by one of her coworkers throughout an entire shoot, Penny decided to give the book one last chance. Picking up she relished the weight of the tome it had been quite a few years since she had read something so long and just maybe it will grow on her. The next two chapters seemed to be written by a completely different author and soon Penny was wrapped up in the world of the novel. She had just reached the fourth chapter when she suddenly heard someone clearing their throat. Startled but not deterred Penny kept reading but dropped the book when she heard a man introduce himself.

_Great I have really lost my mind now, _she thought as she rushed out of the penthouse to the bar down the street. After a few drinks the memory of that voice seemed to still be etched in her head, _maybe just maybe_ _I got soo engrossed in the book that I started to imagine what the cover man's voice would sound like._ With that reassuring thought Penny walked back into her penthouse and went to bed.

**Sorry about the shortness of this chapter but I really want to get back to Sheldon's perspective and found it hard writing Penny. So was the Big Bang reference too much or just right? Also let me know if you like the switching of POVs or if you think that I should stick to Sheldon. The next chapter will focus more on Sheldon's backstory because so many of you asked for that. **


	4. Chapter 3

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter Three

**A/N: alas I own nothing but an idea. Well here is the much promised extra background on Sheldon, hope you all like it. Thank you for all the reviews from the last chapter, I am glad that you all enjoyed it. So I have decided that the points of view will mainly be from Sheldon's perspective but it will switch when needed. To Vikingheart, way to catch my Freudian slip. Now here's some Sheldon**

Sheldon's Point of View

As he heard the blonde sprint for her door Sheldon mentally kicked himself. How could he be so foolish, it had been years since someone had fully accepted him, _I miss Leslie she was so pure and sweet, every day with her was such a treat, _he reminisced. Leslie was a 23 year old librarian, from the first moment he had spoken to her she totally accepted him. Falling for Leslie had been like breathing there was no work involved his love seemed to consume him. He spent hours getting to know every detail about her and loved to surprise her with his knowledge.

The best part was the amount of time they would spend together, even though she was a fast reader Leslie would always reread each chapter, allowing Sheldon extra time that he had always craved with his previous owners. After a year Leslie started to develop feelings for Sheldon, he finally was beginning to feel human and no longer needed her to read a page before he could talk to her, he found that simply opening the cover of his book allowed him to speak to her. They would spend hours upon hours simply discussing the events of the day, Sheldon's work took off and he started to write his findings down hoping one day to figure out a way to publish them. Leslie even suggested that maybe he could share them with her and that she would publish them in his name.

One day after a particularly wonderful evening discussing the literary influences of the Russian authors Leslie brought a few of her friends over to her apartment to introduce Sheldon to them. The friends had all heard about the mysterious man but had never met him and were curious. As Leslie tried to explain their relationship her friend's faces paled. Sheldon wanted to speak out but he knew that if he did they would try and study him in some lab. Ashamed of his behavior and how it had hurt his love Sheldon remained silent and stopped interacting with Leslie altogether. Soon enough Leslie decided that she had imagined the whole year and decided that she needed to take some time away from books. After she quit her job she sold all of her books to her friend Ramona. She was a terrible reader and although she fell hard for Sheldon he never talked to her for more than the time on the pages. After 500 slowly earned pages filled with silence she gave up and "accidently" left him at a bus stop.

Penny's rejection hit him hard, after staring at a blank piece of paper for five hours, he decided to head over and spend some time with Victor Frankenstein; the tragic scientist always seemed to give him the best advice. Three hours later he felt much better and was ready to stick with this crazy blonde woman. Sheldon found himself trying to remember his first owner, she had been an elderly woman who had blushed the first time he told her he loved her, but he loved her like the grandmother he had never had. She had taken such good care of him always using a bookmark, in those early days he was still uncertain about what his place in this new world would be and often would ask her for advice. Her kind heart and warm hands had kept him company for almost a decade. She would call him moonpie but he never really understood why, at first he thought it might be the first signs that she was finally losing her mind but after a few years he realized that she was devouring his pages like he was a chocolaty treat. The day she died was a terrible day, she had died while talking to him, he wished that he was able to tell the blonde about his past, maybe she would understand, but then again the way she had dropped him had greatly bruised his small ego.

Two weeks after the incident Sheldon decided that whatever he had been feeling was a lie and that he if she ever opened his cover again he would simply ignore her, after all she had totally rejected him she did not deserve any of his words. Incidentally the next day he felt himself being picked up and carried to the fireplace. He bit his lip as she looked at him hiding under a tree on the second page, _great she has spotted me_ he pouted. He was started when her angelic voice echoed off of his pages and into his heart as she introduced herself as Penny Coble. She asked if he was still there and waited for a good thirty minutes in silence before she sighed and shut his cover. As he stood up from the shaded tree he felt a hot tear hit his cover.

**Sorry for the wait but I am still trying to decide some big story plots, including but not limited to how the story shall end, if we are dealing with a beauty and the beast type of situation etc. Thank you for reading and I hope you will continue to read. Please let me know what you think **


	5. Chapter 4

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter Four

**A/N: I own nothing. I am soo terribly sorry about the long time since I last updated. I did get the job I interviewed for and it has been a whirlwind of craziness. Also I did just graduate from college with a degree in psychology. Anyway I am not all that sure about this chapter which is part of the long wait, I would also like to just remind everyone that this is an AU story and that while there might be small hints of cannon in the characters they are not cannon. oh one more note I plan on updating at least a bit more today to make up for my lameness. **

Sheldon's Point of View

The next day Sheldon is still feeling terrible he knows that he had broken all of the non-optional social conventions of a conversation. Sheldon was not sure how to make it up to his new owner, _Penny, I need to start calling her Penny, it's a pretty name and it seems to fit her perfectly._ Of his fifteen previous owners Penny is by far the most aesthetically pleasing and he would crazy not to admit it. No he was not crazy he knew that much at least. As the sun begun to break into the small library Sheldon felt his cover once again being open, shifting his focus north he was once again met with forest green eyes.

"Please don't avoid me Sheldon, I shouldn't have dropped you but I was startled, I mean how often do you find yourself reading an interesting book and suddenly hear a real voice introduce itself and you realize that it has nothing to do with the book you were reading?"

After a few more moments of silence Sheldon felt Penny sigh.

"Come on Sheldon please cut me some slack I really do want to get to know you more."

Sheldon soon felt tears splashing down onto his pages, never one to leave a damsel-in-distress he made a decision that no matter what came along he knew he could never regret.

"Please don't cry Penny, I don't do well when people are crying. I am sorry that I startled you and I am also sorry that I ignored you last night. It's just that this isn't my first time in the junior rodeo. I just don't know if I can fully trust you yet."

"I guess I can understand that sweetie, what do you mean? Have you had other owners?"

If Sheldon had had the ability to pale he would have, he had never told an owner about the ones before them.

"I am sorry I don't really know how to proceed, I haven't really had anyone asked me anything like that before Penny. For some reason I feel like I should trust you, why don't you read a couple more chapters while I think about what to say."

Penny's point of view

Penny smiled as she turned the page to start the next chapter, the chapter was about a man named Jim who seemed to have it all, he had a supportive peer group, a great job with opportunities for growth, including the respect of his peers. The thing that he seemed to lack was love, although he didn't seem to mind the absence Penny felt terrible for him. As the story progressed Penny started to notice that there were several similarities between the whack-a-doodle in the story and the voice of the book.

Penny wondered how he was able to communicate with her at all and if he was as old as his cover made him seem. Three chapters later she was starting to fall for the nerdy man written about on the pages of the book, he was arrogant sure but he also had an innocence that could not be ignored. Penny was torn from the next chapter as Sheldon cleared his throat and asked if he could have a few moments of her time. Placing her silk bookmark in its proper place she situated herself in her chair ready to listen.

Sheldon begin to tell her all about himself; apparently his first memory was being a book, she was his sixteenth owner and of those all but two had been women and only four of them were noteworthy. He only had loved two women but they were long gone now, one on her own, and the other he had forced away. Penny couldn't help but feel his pain as his words started to catch in his throat. Sheldon confided to Penny that he had no clue why he was able to talk to her or why he could only do it after the third chapter was complete. He also told her that he did not know what his books were about; he just knew that his previous readers had really enjoyed the stories that filled its pages.

Penny couldn't help but cry as the full meaning of his words hit her, it seemed that Sheldon was such a wonderfully layered person and that she wanted to get to know him better.

**please review and let me know what you think. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Bound to love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter Five

**A/N: I own nothing. Thank you for all the reviews from last chapter they really boasted my spirits. I know that I am totally failing at updating but after a great visit from my sister I feel ready to write more.**

Sheldon's Point of View

Long after Penny went to bed Sheldon stayed "awake" processing all that the two had discussed, he had surprised himself at how open he was being with the blonde, he had told her not only about his previous owners but he soon found himself sharing some of his deepest fears. He explained the frustration of knowing that he was supposed to have a purpose but due to a lack of author his questions remained unanswered. Sheldon also discovered that most of his experiences with his previous owners had all followed a set pattern, as he traced the pattern to each owner he noticed that he always felt that he had to love them and receive the love that he was offered. It was almost like he had no choice in the matter it, Sheldon found himself wondering how his lack of free will would affect his relationship with Penny.

Sheldon started to notice Penny growing more haggard and downtrodden over the next few months and vowed to make each moment that the two of them shared filled with as much joy as he could muster and promised himself that he would never hurt the blonde who had warmed her way into his heart. Sheldon was not sure how he would maintain this goal but he knew that he needed to at least try especially as he realized how much her friendship meant to him. Slowly but surely the two developed a routine that worked for them, will Penny was at work Sheldon would try and solve the world's mysteries, he knew that he was close and he was certain that if he could only solve one of life's mysteries his purpose would be revealed further. Once Penny returned from work she would eat dinner, and start a fire, Sheldon had long ago discovered that he loved the warmth of an open fire and was glad that his new owner shared his affection, for orange dancing flames. With an roaring fire before her Penny would crack his worn spine and read one chapter, talk to him, read a chapter and so on. As the months grew Sheldon found his affections bloom into the spring blossoms of friendship. He never felt like he had to be more than Sheldon for her as the months grew they each developed their own nicknames for each other Sheldon became Jim, while Penny became Queen P.

Penny's Point of View

One night as Sheldon tried to explain a complex mathematical equation I found my mind drifting back to work, it had been a particularly hard week, the director and all the rest of the cast seemed to all the sudden turn against her character development and were not listen to any of the notes that she had made in the read-throughs. Penny wanted her character to break out of the hard shell she had been forced into, Penny wanted her character to meet a new scientist who would show her that there is more to life than science, but when she had pitched the idea at a meeting, the sweet friendship turned into a dysfunctional relationship that the writers hoped they could draw out for several seasons.

Sheldon instantly caught her mood change and allowed her to vent about her work problems. Penny wasn't quite sure how to explain to Sheldon that it was his alter ego Jim that had really inspired her to stand up for herself, recently Jim had not only been betrayed by his "best friends" and had sulked back to his hometown only to accept them back into his life, but had also been set up with a women who seemed to be his female counterpart.

Lately Penny had been having a hard time finding the differences between Jim and Sheldon especially as she started to enjoy Sheldon's company more and more she wondered if there was even a small amount of Jim in Sheldon. This of course made Penny worried about whose company she was really enjoying. Sheldon had become the knight to her queen and was her closest confidant; all new ideas and plans were screened through her mysterious book. After the first year Penny's mind started to wander to how her friends might react if she told them about Sheldon or what they might do if they met him. Mustering up all her courage she breeched the subject one warm July night, her companion's reaction was immediate, for the rest of the night getting Sheldon to start a topic of conversation was like pulling teeth and when she did ask him a question she received one-two word sentences.

Sheldon's Point of View

All the rest of the next day Sheldon engaged in a mental battle straight out of the American Civil War, his heart wanted to meet all of Penny's friends and family, but his brain constantly reminded him of the hell that Leslie. He didn't want to lose his best friend and his brain was well aware of that, after several more battles his heart relented, finally admitting that lying to Leslie had just about kill it. Sheldon was certain that Penny was the best and only friend he had ever truly had, he wasn't sure but his brain was willing to bet that he was falling fast for the green eyed beauty and that for the first time the love was pure, innocent and a simple bi-product of their time together. Sheldon waited a few days and simply asked Penny to keep him a secret for a while longer; hoping that later would never come. Penny clearly was not happy about the idea but Sheldon continued his resolve and she finally relented. Sheldon was well aware that whatever his pages were covered in was drawing Penny in more and more than his own presence. Sheldon found himself jealous of himself for the first time and was not sure how to ask Penny what was really going on afraid of the answer, he knew for a fact that she preferred tragic dark stories to the happy romantic stories that filled most of his previous owner's shelves. Penny was so engrossed in the story that she took him to work for a whole week, the idea of being at Penny's work thrilled Sheldon, the sets and the cast were very intriguing and he found that he enjoyed watching Penny act. Sheldon became so comfortable in the sleeve of Penny's chair that he almost didn't realize that he was being picked up by someone other than his Queen. He had never been opened by someone who didn't own him and was very nervous. _Should I be talk to this person? _He wondered to himself, as the face of the male lead peered down onto his pages, Sheldon slinked back to the far reaches of the book and decided that he did not trust this man who simply picked up other people's books without permission. The mysterious face soon turned from intrigue to anger as the man flipped Sheldon's pages with more and more purpose; At last the man slammed Sheldon shut hatred filled his voice as he whispered that he could understand what he had just read. _Good _Sheldon thought, _my words are not for you_. But the man continued, "How could anyone even pick out a single word on the page with them all typed on top of each other." Sheldon then felt himself being thrown into a large duffle bag. all he could think was _Maybe Penny had given this man permission to take me home with him, maybe he is my new owner._

**Thoughts, comments, angry hate letters, please do send them my way, (though please tone down the hatred, if this is not your thing simply don't read on)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter 6

**A/N: I own nothing. Once again I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed so far. So I have reworked my original plan and now instead of being about 14 chapters there will only be about 3 more chapters; two real chapters and an epilogue. Please message me if your questions are not being answered. As I said in the prequel this story came from a random idea on the internet and while I have thought it out a good deal there are still some blanks that even I am not really sure how to fill, so if you have any suggestions please shoot them my way. **

Penny's Point of View

Bringing Sheldon onto the set of her sitcom had been Penny's newest attempt to try and show off Sheldon to her friends. Penny started to develop deep feelings for Sheldon and started to see more and more Sheldon in Jim, by the middle of the book Penny was certain that Sheldon had to know a bit more about the story that graced his pages, especially as more and more Jim-like qualities revealed became more and more apparent. Penny was amazed to find that the more she read the more detailed the story seemed to get, she also found that while she was drawn to the story she felt a stronger pull to hear more and more about the fragments from Sheldon's life. She discovered that Sheldon really couldn't tell her much about himself beyond his owners and his work. It seemed that the more she knew about Jim the less she could uncover about Sheldon.

One day on the set Penny had casually mentioned to one of her co-workers that she had discovered a book that was better than all the other books she had ever read put together and that it seemed totally original and she never wanted it to end. She didn't notice that the male lead; who had been trying to ask her out for months was listening, after wrapping for the day Penny went to retrieve Sheldon from her chair sleeve. _Maybe I didn't take him to work with me today_ she thought after the initial panic set in, thinking through her whole day she remembered that during the lunch break she had finished a particularly hard chapter where Jim explained why he was certain that he would never be able to find true love. Somewhere in that desperation Penny heard for the first time since being introduced to the two men Sheldon instead of Jim's voice.

Penny traced her entire day trying to find Sheldon but after three hours decided that she needed to go home. As she drove through the warm streets one thought kept running through her mind _I think I might have feelings for Sheldon and not Jim. _As Penny mulled the idea over her own civil war started on one side she really wanted to love Sheldon he made her feel things that she thought she would never be able to feel again but on the other hand she was pretty sure if she told anyone else she loved a book; and that it was not just a fictional character but the actual book that bound that character together, that she would be committed. Try as she might she could shake the pictures of how crazy it would look, walking down the street with Sheldon, talking to him, bringing him with her to her friends parties, the height of the ridiculous images was that of her in a white dress standing across from a book with a bow tie around it, while bow ties were cool they weren't that cool. Penny's thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang, _Oh great its him again, how many times do I have to say no to a guy before he takes a hint. _"Penny I think we need to talk, met me at the coffee shop across the street in a half an hour'' was all she heard before the click. Not really sure what to expect but thankful that he had asked to meet in a private place Penny walked down to the small coffee shop and ordered a turtle mocha and a blueberry scone.

After a few minutes of checking her emails, Penny notices her co-star walking over to her. As he sat down he thanked her for coming. He then proceeded to ask her about how she feels about the new direction the show is going, specifically the plot twist that the two of them and not the people they were originally with were going to start a romantic relationship. Really she hadn't thought much about it, after fighting for so long to lose her first love interest a new one seemed wrong, but she admitted that she felt that unlike the unhealthy relationships they were forced into the new one seems to have far more benefits. She asked if he had ever read any of the fandom's stories that put the two of them together, he blushed and admitted that he had and that he was glad that the directors were finally going in a direction that seemed to make sense for both of their characters. After a couple moments of idle chit chat Penny bravely asked what he really wanted to talk about, he shifted about in his seat for a few moments before he reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out Sheldon. "You found my book!" Penny exclaimed reaching for Sheldon, as her co-star pulled him back. "Yeah I actually wanted to talk to you about this book." _Crap, did he try and read Sheldon._ Penny wondered as she tried to stay calm and asked him what about the book.

"First off, you know that this book is really just sentences printed on top of one another for like a hundred pages, right?" He paused and Penny shook her head, "No I remember the minute I picked it up I started reading a story," she replied. "Hmm, you mean right away from page one you had no problem reading the book? Cause I showed this to another friend of mine and he couldn't read anything till like 300 pages into the book." "Did anything else happen while you were reading the book?" Penny asked nervously. "Nah the story just seems to be some loner guy whining that all the women in his life leave him because he has some strange condition. Although my friend said that it was about some scientist who is trying to discover the mysteries of the universe. Also I looked up the publishing date and there is no record of this book ever existing." "I am sorry but that's not my book, I know my book and my book makes sense and starts right away, my book is special." Hysteria was rising within Penny, she felt like she was being attacked memories from her childhood when she would be called a liar surfaced, but Penny needed to protect Sheldon and so after calming down she asked for her book back and was once again met with what could only be a practical joke, Penny stood up and made one final plea and was denied it appeared that the man still had more to say but Penny was finished all she wanted to do was go home and talk to Sheldon, surely Sheldon would know what to do. Making her mind up to do just that Penny snatched Sheldon from the terrible man and stormed out of the coffee shop.

Upon arriving home Penny settled into her favorite chair, caressed Sheldon's cover and opened to a random page. Penny dropped the book as her eyes found the page, the page was filled with words on top of one another, sure she could occasionally pick out a word here or there; Jim, science, and a few other words stood out but the rest was a black nothingness. "Sheldon what happened to you?" She asked when she finally picked him back up and started turning his pages; it seemed that they all were that way except for two. It was like a mad printer had decided that instead of printing a story that spread multiple pages had printed whole stories on one page. it wasn't until she heard the crackle of the fire that she realized Sheldon had not answered her, turning to the image on the front cover, only to find a dead tree.

**Review please.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter 7

**A/N: Well now that I am on a roll I have been very wordy, thank you all for your encouragement. This is the second to last chapter before the epilogue. As usual I still own nothing and really can't help that. Please do let me know if you want more along this line or if you want me to write a sequel. **

Sheldon's Point of View

The few moments after being stolen had been the worst for Sheldon, he had no way of knowing if he would ever see Penny again and that almost killed him, on top of that he didn't really trust whoever had taken him and wasn't sure if he would be able to interact with him, he knew that once a reader hit his third chapter a barrier broke down and he was able to speak again, but he wasn't sure if that was because everyone he had ever talked to had already owned him or what. It was times like this that he really wished he wasn't so unique. His self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted as the man opened his cover again and flipped through his pages with more violence than before, it was clear that he didn't like what he was seeing, As he breeched what would be the third chapter Sheldon braced himself to ask questions but the barrier only appeared to strengthen as the man skimmed his pages further, after a while the man's features softened and his page turning took a more gentle approach, a small smile appeared as he placed Sheldon on his coffee table "what a pathetic nerd" was all Sheldon heard before the man picked up his cell phone and invited someone over. _What is going to happen to me?_ Sheldon wondered as a second man puzzled vocally through his pages it seemed that whatever had intrigued the first man caught this man's attention as well, and once again Sheldon found that even though the man was more than a third of the way through his story he could not speak, after the man closed his cover he proceed to insult Sheldon even more than the first man had. _Wow all this time I really thought Penny was my friend, but if she gave me to these guys to make fun of me I don't want to talk to her again._

Sheldon's anger soon turned to confusion; surely she couldn't know how they treated her and would stand up for him. Sheldon's heart put up a good fight but in the end even it felt by this woman, sure she had always been friend, and sure he had grown to care for her but hadn't she always told him caring was a weakness. Fearing rejection and more mocking Sheldon ran and hid with Victor Frankenstein in the Arctic waters when she opened his cover later that night, only after he knew she had given up did he return. For weeks Sheldon kept to his routine, as soon as he would feel his cover being lifted he would run to a friend's book. It didn't take too much longer for Penny to abandon him, _Then again it never does_, he thought to himself. After three months he found himself in a stack of books on its way to a used bookstore.

Penny's Point of View

_What the heck happened to me, since when do books talk._ Penny was fairly certain that not only was the idea of a book talking crazy but the fact that she had convinced herself that she was in love with a book. Sure it made sense if you looked at the outside factors, the anniversary of her parent's divorce had driven her to shop and she must have actually picked up a book that had a southern gentleman on it at the store but she must have put it back because it was a romance novel. Added to the fact that everyone she knew was getting married and the drama with her character it was not too far-fetched of an idea that she had made everything up. Buying a defective book was just the icing on the cake. Once Penny had reasoned out what had happened the mysterious book didn't bother her anymore, sure she wished it was all true on several occasions but the cold hard truth was that it had all been an delusion that she had fed herself to make up for her pathetic life.

Penny decided to get rid of the majority of her books, after all what had they ever done for her, no matter how many books she read her parents divorced, men still cheated on her, her TV shows were still cancelled, no books were no longer going to lie to her, talking or otherwise. With new resolve Penny boxed up all but four of her books and set them to a local used bookstore. Upon returning from the bookstore with a hefty sum of money, Penny decided it was time to fulfill a lifelong dream and travel, sitting down to her PC, Penny booked a one-way ticket to Dublin Ireland, packing was easy and she had no one to say good bye to, within 24 hours she would finally set foot in the Emerald Isle.

**please let me know what you think…also I do believe I have a terrific idea for a new story, the story will be Shenny and unlike this one the characters will be together for most of the story, the story will have a good deal of psychology as that is what I went to college for. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Chapter 8

**A/N: Wow the last chapter before the epilogue hope you guys have enjoyed this as much as I have. Spoilers this will have another cliff hanger, please just bear with me I promise it will be worth the wait. Even though I at times imagine myself as River Song I sadly am not her and therefore do not have the ability to travel with the Doctor back in time and create The Big Bang Theory, in other words I own nothing. **

Sheldon's Point of View

Sheldon was miserable, he had no one to talk to, all the other books had started to avoid him and he hated the small dark used bookstore that he had been abandoned in. Everything seemed to remind him of Penny, and as the days turned to months his heart into smaller pieces of itself. After a year Sheldon was finally able to get up in the morning without Penny coming to mind immediately and a month later he found that he was able to work again, but his work was less enjoyable, he found himself distracted easily and after a while he started to hear a voice screaming at him, whenever he stood in front of his white boards. At first he was able to simply ignore the voice but the closer he got to the end of his work the louder and closer the voice seemed to be. The voice seemed quite happy to call Sheldon names, _how dare my own mind tease me _Sheldon thought after a particularly vicious afternoon.

"That's it, you will listen to me one way or another Sheldon Lee. I am done playing Mr. Nice Guy." Sheldon was stunned to discover a person attached to his angry voice when he turned toward the noise. The owner of the voice had to be Sheldon's doppelganger; he was everything that Sheldon was not, he looked like he had never seen the sun and spent a good deal of his time in comic bookstores, but under all of that the man possessed an air of confidence that Sheldon had lost many years before.

"So now that I've got your attention," the man said with a small smile, "What the heck did you do to that poor girl?"

Sheldon had dealt with too many poor girls to really be certain whom this stranger was talking about and decided to wait till he provided more information.

"Don't play dumb Sheldon it really isn't believable, Penny you fool, why did you let her go? You do realize that she was perfect right, and that for the first time someone was willing to pick you over me."

Sheldon felt tears well up in his eyes as the part of himself he had sectioned off so many years ago spoke. _Could it be true_ he wondered, it had been decades since his first owner had chosen Jim over Sheldon. The two halves of Sheldon's psyche separated after that and wagged a war. But over the years Sheldon forgot all about Jim and allowed him full run of the story printed on his pages, Sheldon had to take a step back as all the memories of competing and losing, of Jim taunting him, of Jim playing on his owner's weakness. Sheldon knew instantly that Jim had protected him from Penny's co-star a year ago. Sheldon knew that he really loved Penny and that Jim seemed to feel the same way and was mad at Sheldon for allowing her to leave, "What can I do now, she is gone forever. I know I messed up but maybe it's time we join back together." Sheldon suggested sheepishly, Jim's smile erased the decades of pain. The last thing before the bright flash that Sheldon remembered was offering Jim his hand.

Penny's Point of View

Ireland had been good for Penny; she enjoyed the countryside and had finally taken up writing. The time away had allowed her to work out her issues with her parents, and love. While she hadn't started dating she had almost gone a few dates. Penny found that as the months dragged on, she truly missed Sheldon, by that time she could no longer deny that what they had was real, but they had both hurt each other too much. Penny was also fairly certain that Sheldon would have a new owner by now. Realizing that she had truly lost the great love of her life Penny threw all her time and energy into writing, her first series was about a man who seemed to fall in love with every women that he met and the one woman who changed all that. The series was a best seller worldwide, she was already on her second book tour when she was invited to speak at small bookstore just outside of Houston Texas, the owner seemed very passionate about her books, Penny agreed after the two hour long conversation was wrapping it, the man seemed to be a very neat person and they had a lot in common.

Two weeks later Penny's plane landed and she made her way towards baggage claim, thankful that Dublin international did its customs checks before international flights.(* A/N they seriously do this I have flown out twice) Penny searched the names written on various papers scanning twice before she dropped her bags and put her hand to her mouth, written in bright colors was _Queen P_.

**Haha…another cliff hanger… I know I am evil… anyway just one more chapter; which will be the epilogue. please review **


	10. Epilogue

**Bound to Love**

By Pandakelly

Epilogue

**A/N: well here we are you and I at the last chapter, I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorited this story. This came from such a random place in my mind and its crazy that anyone would like it but anyway. As I have been hinting I do have an idea for my next story, it will not be a sequel, but it will have a similar feel and will focus on Shenny, psychology, and dreams. Once again thank you so much for your support. Without further ado the conclusion to Bound to Love**

General Point of View

As green eyes met blue all the worry and pain erased itself from both hearts. It was clear that they were meant to be together and now that they were both human they wouldn't have to be apart. Sheldon tried to explain to Penny all that had happened since she left but she stopped his words with a kiss which he passionately and enthusiastically returned. On the journey to his shop he was able to tell her major details, that Jim had offered him a chance at humanity, that he had tried to find her for months before succeeding and that he somehow was able to talk to all his old friends. Penny told him that nothing about his past mattered, that they had each other and would make a future together. Sheldon was more than happy to accept her offer to move into his small apartment and take the time to get to know him again.

A year later Penny arrived at the bookstore after hours only to discover Sheldon holding a bouquet of paper roses, as she took the bouquet she couldn't help read the parts that were visible, somehow Sheldon had taken pages out of all her favorite books, from _Gone with the Wind, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sweet Far Thing, Dracula,_ and his favorite books, _Star Wars, Macbeth, Gods and Generals, Bryon, Keats, Shelley _it was the perfect mixture of the two of them. Sheldon was nervous as he led her to corner chair in the store, making sure she was comfortable in her chair he took out a large tome, a tome that Penny thought she would never see. The first thing she noticed was that the book finally had name, _Bound to Love _Was printed along the spine in an elegant font. Tears filled her eyes as she opened the pages and found the words clear and the same after all those years, the only difference she noted was that the story seemed to be more about Sheldon than Jim, although from what Sheldon had told her it made sense. As Penny flipped through the book Sheldon waited patiently sensing that she was close to the end he silently slipped out of his chair and reached into his pocket. When Penny reached the last page a small precise handwritten sentence caught her eye, _Will you marry me Penny, making me the happiest man/book ever? _Looking up from the tome she saw Sheldon kneeling with what could only be described as the perfect ring in his hand, not trusting her own voice Penny simply nodded.

Three months later the pair found themselves in front of a small church, as hand written vows passed between them. Two years later Sheldon fainted at the sight of two perfect babies with his last name. Seven years after that Sheldon turned from the shelf he was restacking to answer his son's question about why books were so important. "Son without books you wouldn't even be here" was all he could say. Later that night he was surprised to find that Penny had just had a similar discussion with their daughter. _Kids these days they simply don't understand fine literature._

**The End**


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